Previous studies have found that during aging a large number of
biological structures such as tissues and organs loses its complexity
and that such loss leads to reduced ability to adapt to physiological
stress. However, so far there is no information on whether similar structural changes occur in individual cells and their genetic material.
Structural complexity can be
quantified in several ways.
Recent studies
have determined that the
chromatin,
as well as
many other
biological structures exhibit
fractal
characteristics
in
their morphology.
The concept of
fractals
is
based
on the principle of
self
-
similarity,
or
the
fact
that the
lower
parts
of a physical
or
biological system
resemble
the system
as a
whole.
The complexity of
fractal structures
Can be
measured
by determining
the fractal dimension
and
lacunarity
as the
two
most important parameters of
fractal analysis. In addition to the
fractal
analysis,
textural analysis as a method
is
also
frequently
used.
Textural analysis can
determine

the
parameters of
textural
heterogeneity
and
disorganization (i.e.entropy)of
biological
structures.
In our study,
on
the
mouse
experimental model,
we
studied
age
-
related
changes in chromate in structural complexity
in the total of
10 cell populations in the thymus, spleen, kidney and liver. Also, we described changes in the complexity of the nuclear structure
in
a
cell
culture after the induction of DNA damage by UV radiation...